Teardown slideshow: Inside the third-generation iPad

SAN FRANCISCO—The third generation of Apple Inc.'s wildly successful iPad media tablet, which hit store shelves this week, features a modified version of Apple's A5 processor, A5X, which has a larger floorplan to include quad-core graphics, according to a teardown analysis performed by UBM TechInsights.

According to UBM TechInsights, a sister company to EE Times, the A5X measures roughly 163 square millimeters, compared to about 120 square millimeters for the standard A5. Both chips use identical ARM processor cores, but the A5X adds four PowerVR SGX543MP4 graphics cores, which are paired in groups of two and then symmetrically opposed to each other on the floorplan.

The A5X, like the standard A5, features two application processor cores and operates at 1 GHz., UBM TechInsights said. But the A5X includes more DDR interfaces and more architecture added for the handling of quad-core GPU, according to the firm's analysis.

The third-generation iPad became available in U.S. stores Friday (March 16). The release featured the usual hoopla surrounding iPad and iPhone releases, with willing consumers lining up hours in advance in hopes of getting their hands on the new device.

According to UBM TechInsights, by the end of 2010 Apple had sold more than 15 million iPads. Despite strong competition from products released by Motorala and Samsung, Apple held a 75 tablets share of overall sales of tablets, according to the firm.

A detailed photographic account of UBM TechInsights' teardown analysis and its findings can be found on the pages that follow. More information about the new iPad teardown can be found on UBM TechInsights' website.

So the teardown is only important to the next company that will make the next solid state media player/displayer to compete with the iPad? So Apple's products are made in China with a quality and longevity to match. And with totally controlled content also from Apple. Sounds more like monopoly and less like innovation. The manufacturing Tech in the iPad has been around for years. So Apple's revenue stream is more about gizmodoland and very little about innovation.